Feb. 19, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

UPDATE: Another standing-room only crowd is expected when the Western Washington University men's basketball team entertains arch-rival Central Washington University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Saturday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The game closes out a three-game home stand for the Vikings. It will be webcast on CSTV/NCAA Division II Broadband and can be viewed for no charge by linking to http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii.

The 1987-88 WWU men's hoop team will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Twenty years ago, that squad won the NAIA District 1 championship and reached the second round at the NAIA National Tournament, a feat accomplished by the Vikings just once before.

Western, 13-9 overall and tied for sixth in the league standings at 6-7, split a pair of GNAC home games last week, defeating Alaska Fairbanks, 82-71, on Feb. 16, following an 81-69 loss to nationally No.10-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 14.

The Vikings, who are 9-2 at home, are led in scoring by junior guard Ira Graham, whose 19.0 points per game average tops the GNAC. Shooting 54.3 percent (152-of-280) from the field, he has been Western's top scorer in 17 of its 22 games and has scored double figures 20 times this season, both team bests.

Junior forward Steve Alford is averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Vikings, scoring double-figures 14 times. He had 37 points and 12 rebounds in the two games last week.

Junior forward Calin Schell is averaging 9.5 points on 53.7 percent field-goal shooting (87-of-162) and his 7.5 rebound average ranks fourth in the conference. He is second among GNAC leaders in offensive rebounds (62, 2.8 avg.). In last week's games, Schell scored 25 points on 64.7 percent (11-of-17) floor accuracy and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Sophomore center Steve Severin is contributing 7.3 points and is the league's third-leading rebounder with a team-high 7.6 average. He ranks 12th nationally and tops the GNAC in blocked shots with 59 (2.7 avg.), 20 more than his nearest rival.

Junior guard Derrick Webb is scoring at an 8.9 per game clip, and sophomore guard Harold McAllister is averaging 5.6 points while shooting a team-leading 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from 3-point range.

Junior center David Brittinen came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points in last week's win over Alaska Fairbanks. He is averaging 5.2 points on 78.4 percent (40-of-51) field-goal shooting this season, scoring at a 10.5 clip over the last six games.

Western, which has been plagued by poor free-throw shooting all season, made 19-of 26 (73.1 percent) against Alaska Fairbanks. The Vikings are next-to-last in the GNAC with a school-record low pace of 61.6 percent (326-of-529). Making matters worse, WWU opponents are hitting 74.0 percent (353-of-477) at the line.

Western leads the GNAC in 3-point defense at 30.5 percent (110-of-361) and blocked shots (5.6 avg.), holding a 122-to-79 advantage over second-place Seattle Pacific.

Central, riding a five-game winning streak, is 16-6 overall and second in the GNAC at 10-3. The Wildcats are coming off a 74-72 overtime win against league-leading Alaska Anchorage, snapping the Seawolves' school and conference-record 18-game victory string.

Central is led by two junior transfers from NCAA I Eastern Washington - 6-8 center Jake Beitinger (15.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and 6-5 forward Matt Penoncello (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Another standout transfer is 6-3 junior guard Brandon Foote (Bellingham, 10.8 ppg), who was the 2007 NWAACC North Region MVP at Whatcom CC.

Two other top players for Central coach Greg Sparling (13th year, 215-148) are 6-0 senior guard Nate Jackson (13.0 ppg, .556 FG Pct.), a returning starter, and 6-3 junior guard Giovonne Woods (9.6 ppg), a redshirt last year after playing at Evergreen and San Jose City College.

The Wildcats are averaging a GNAC-best 88.0 points per game with Western second at 81.5. They also top the league in steals (8.8 avg.) and lead in 3-point shooting at 39.5 percent (187-of-473).

Central defeated the Vikings, 86-63, on Jan. 26 at Ellensburg. Western has won 10 of the last 13 series meetings, but trail 85-150 overall.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Feb. 23 (Sat.) CENTRAL WASHINGTON*# (CARVER GYM - 7 p.m.)
Feb. 28 (Thu.) at Seattle U.*# (Seattle - Connolly Center - 7 p.m.)
March 1 (Sat.) at Montana State Billings* (Billings, MT - Alterowitz Gymnasium - 7 p.m.)
Home games (all caps) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium
#broadcast on KBAI Radio (930 AM) and via the internet at wwuvikings.com
*Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest

THREE-DOT NOTES: The Vikings are 8-1 this season when allowing less than 70 points ... Two years ago, Western ranked No.1 nationally in free throw percentage at 78.6 ... Graham scored a career-high 33 points against Western Oregon on Jan.12 and has a three-year career total of 869. Earlier in the campaign he had a school-record 10-game streak as Western's leading scorer as well as a 19-game string scoring double figures, both of which began last season ... Graham, Schell and Severin have started every game for the Vikings ...Western has reached the century mark in scoring twice this season. The Vikings did not score 100 points in a game last year, the first time that had happened since the 1983-84 campaign ... Five of Western's nine setbacks this season have been to Top 25 ranked teams in the National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Poll. Those losses were to defending GNAC co-champion Seattle Pacific, and twice each to defending West Region champion Cal State San Bernardino and Alaska Anchorage.

Graham has been named to three all-tournament teams this season, and Schell to two ... McAllister set a school record earlier this season by making eight straight 3-pointers over a four-game stretch and tied another WWU mark by hitting all five of his 3-pointers against Multnomah Bible ... Brad Jackson has 422 career victories in 23 years as head coach. That is the most by any coach in any sport in school history. Current WWU director of athletics Lynda Goodrich posted 411 victories in 19 campaigns as the Vikings' women's basketball coach from 1971-90 ... Alford was a first-team conference all-star at Bakersfield College, and Webb was co-MVP of the NWAACC Western Region last year at Highline CC, where Zach Bruce was a second-team NWAACC regional all-star.

COACH JACKSON: Brad Jackson, who chairs the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee where he has been a Division II representative for four years, is in his 23rd year and is the most successful men's coach in school history, both in total wins (422-248) and winning percentage (.630). He ranks No.19 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and 35th in winning percentage. In 2001, Jackson directed Western to a 27-4 record and the semifinals of the NCAA II National Championship, being named NABC/NCAA II West Region, Northwest small college and Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year. Five times named district/region Coach of the Year, Jackson has directed Western to 16 post-season playoff appearances, including district/region/conference championships and national tournament appearances in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2006. He has had nine 20-win campaigns (1986-90, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06).

RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected Western games are being broadcast this season on KBAI Radio (930 AM) with Doug Lange handling the play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing the color commentary. They also can be heard on the internet at www.wwuvikings.com.

ON THE WEB: For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com. Viking home games are being video streamed live at www.justin.tv/vikingtv.

PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:

G Harold McAllister, 6-0, *So., Vancouver, WA/Mountain View
G Ira Graham, 6-1, **Jr., Fontana, CA/Fontana
C Steve Severin, 6-10, *So., Richland, WA/Hanford
F Calin Schell, 6-7, **Jr., Chelan, WA/Chelan
F Steve Alford, 6-5, Jr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College

G Derrick Webb, 6-3, Jr., Port Orchard, WA/South Kitsap/Highline CC
G Andrew Ready, 6-1, Jr., Chicago, IL/Westinghouse/Bakersfield College
F Zach Bruce, 6-8, Jr., Oceanside, CA/Oceanside/Highline CC
F David Brittinen, 6-8, Jr.**, Hoquiam, WA/Hoquiam
G Jason Pegues, 6-2, Jr., Seattle, WA/Cleveland/Edmonds CC
*letters

GAME SUMMARIES:

Feb. 14 - Alaska Anchorage 81, WESTERN 69 at Bellingham

Center Carl Arts scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, lifting nationally ranked Alaska Anchorage to an 81-69 victory over Western in a GNAC game at Carver Gym. Graham had 20 points to lead Western, which lost for just the second time in 10 games at Carver Gym this season. UAA, ranked No.5 in latest NABC/NCAA II Top 25 and No.1 in West Region, improved to 20-3, with all three losses to Division I schools, and extended its school-record winning streak to 18 games. The Seawolves, who shot 72.0 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half, lead the GNAC at 11-0. Western held a 31-26 lead at halftime, and were up by eight, 39-31, with 16:52 to play. But the Seawolves scored on eight of their next nine trips up the floor in a 17-3 run and took a 46-42 lead with 11:49 to play. Arts had 10 points in the charge, hitting five straight shots from the field. The Vikings were still within two, 56-54, on a layin by Severin with 7:16 remaining, but UAA went on an 11-2 run capped by a layin and free throw by Chris Bryant and opened up a 67-56 lead with 4:11 to go. Western got no closer than five points after that. Schell had 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Western, and Severin had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. The Vikings had a 37-27 advantage in rebounds, but committed 20 turnovers, their second-highest total of the season. All five UAA starters scored in double figures. Forward McCade Olsen had 16 points, Bryant added 13 and forward Cameron Burney had 11. Guard Luke Cooper, a finalist for the 2008 Bob Cousy Award honoring the top point guard in college basketball, had 10 points and 10 assists. The Seawolves hit 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the field, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point range.

Feb. 16 - WESTERN 82, Alaska Fairbanks 71 at Bellingham

Brittinen came off the bench to score a game and career-high 22 points on 7-of-8 field-goal shooting and also grabbed seven rebounds as Western defeated Alaska Fairbanks, 82-71, in a GNAC contest at Carver Gym. The Vikings also got 18 points off the bench from Alford. UAF fell to 4-17 overall and 1-11 in the GNAC with its 16th loss in the last 17 games. Forward Kevin Atkins led the Nanooks with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. UAF took an 11-4 lead a little less than five minutes into the game, and held a 17-13 advantage with nine minutes left in the first half. But Western ran off 12 straight points, seven of them by Alford, in a 2:40 span, to take a 25-17 lead with 6:18 remaining in the period and the Vikings led the rest of the way, leading 38-27 at halftime. The Nanooks used a run of six straight points to close to within eight, 48-40, with 14:48 to play, but then Western put the game out of reach. The Vikings went on a 12-2 run to take a 60-42 lead with 12:31 remaining. McAllister had the last 10 points in the charge, hitting a trio of 3-pointers and adding a free throw in a 69-second span. McAllister, who finished with 12 points, was one of five Vikings in double figures, as Schell had 11 points, and Severin had 10 points and five of Western's 10 blocked shots. Western shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field, and overcame its recent free-throw shooting woes by hitting 73.1 percent (19-of-26) at the line. Forward Mladen Begojevic and guard Kevin Campbell each had 12 points for UAF. Center Colin Matteson and reserve forward Nashorn Maynard each added 10.